A community campaign seeking to block proposals to use two quiet residential streets as access to a new housing estate has been hit by Scottish Government reporters backing the plans.
The Stop the B.A.D. Access Group in Lossiemouth had hoped that a report on objections to the plans would support their case that use of Halliman Way and Fisher Place as the main access to 278 new homes was against the region’s Local Plan.
However, the report published last week backed the proposal and gave a green light to Moray Council’s planning and regulatory services committee to support the development plans.
While the Scottish Government Reporter acknowledged objections to use of the cul-de-sacs by a number of individuals supported by the Lossiemouth Community Council, his report insisted that the provision of multi-use routes from Boyd Anderson Drive in the town was “consistent with Scottish Government policy on Designing Streets and Creating Places”.
That went firmly against the campaign group insistence that the plans to open up the two streets was not a requirement of the government policy.
A defiant spokesman for the campaign group insisted that almost everyone in Lossiemouth was against the proposals. Robert Murdoch said: “We cannot understand how these roads are expected to support such a major development and we are obviously very disappointed at this report.”
Mr Murdoch said that it was now important to the community that the group continued their opposition to the plans, adding: “We are very much annoyed that some of the mitigation we’ve put forward appears not to have been considered by the council.
“Moray Council is yet to address that Halliman Way is too small for an access road and we will be presenting our case before the planning committee.”
A spokesman for the local planning sub-group at the Lossiemouth Community Council said: “We have noted the comments made by the Scottish Government reporter and will discuss these at our next meeting on May 19.
“We have already put in place our objection to Fisher Place and Halliman Way being used as access routes for this development.
“We recognise that the project will bring much needed homes to Moray – but have to question why the original and more appropriate access routes appear to have been abandoned in favour of using these streets.”